Dear friends, check out some of the work we have been doing!
On Monday (3/21) the Coalition held its second Academic Complicity Work Group meeting, led by our coordinating team member Shakeer. The group has been mapping the spectrum of academic complicity that surround policing. They’ve also been discussing ways to create support and accountability structures for academics whose work is considered too political due to its alignment with activists’ views. Additionally, the group is working to build power among student groups on campus.
On Tuesday 3/22, the Coalition continued its Collective learning and power building series around our report, Automating Banishment: The Surveillance and Policing of Looted Land. This week we covered Part 4-B of the report, continuing our deep dive into the history of containment, banishment, and neglect in Skid Row. We were so grateful to be joined again by a brilliant set of organizers from Los Angeles Community Action Network (LA CAN), including the brilliant Steve Diaz.
The rest of the week was spent preparing for our very successful SPRING INTO ABOLITION fundraiser on 3/25 at 6pm. We appreciate everyone who was able to tune in and donate. The event was bookended with musical performances by the LA CAN freedom singers. We also had music from pop sensation MUNA, Indie Rockstar Maddie Ross, and Brooklyn educator/ organizer Sonny Singh. We were also blessed with poetry from Claire Schwartz, and a presentation by Princess Grace award winning writer, director, and curator Miranda Haymon. We honored our dear coordinating team members Chella Coleman, General Dogon, and Nadia Khan and our comrades at the Palestinian Youth Movement. There were special appearances by Nana Gyamfi of the Black Alliance for Just Immigration, Pete White of LA CAN, Dr. Melina Abdullah of Black Lives Matter LA, and Tauheedah Shakur of Youth Justice Coalition. We’re so grateful for the immense support and coordination that our dear friends Eva, Becca, and Benjamin at Resource Generation LA provided, we couldn’t have done it without you!
If you missed it, you can watch the fundraiser HERE. It’s not too late to support the Coalition’s work:
To make an online donation, you can use Venmo (@stoplapdspying) or a credit or debit card (https://chuffed.org/project/support-the-stop-lapd-spying-coalition).
To make a tax-exempt online donation, visit LA CAN’s donate page and choose “Stop LAPD Spying Coalition” from the “special purpose for your donation” drop-down menu.
To make a tax-exempt donation by mail, make the check out to LA CAN (our fiscal sponsor) and write “for Stop LAPD Spying Coalition,” on the memo line. Mail check to Stop LAPD Spying Coalition, 838 E. 6th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90021.
On Saturday, March 26th, several coalition members attended the FESTIVAL DEL BARRILETES. An art exhibit put together by Byron (@nondocumentedla) that centered giant colorful kites created in community to honor, celebrate, and send messages to loved ones taken by state violence. Chella spoke during the event to talk more about one of the Kite’s made in collaboration with the Stop LAPD Spying Coalition. Followed by a special performance by Mariella Saba to honor our deceased relatives.
To plug in with any of the work groups listed above, or for more information about the Stop LAPD Spying Coalition, email us at stoplapdspying@gmail.com.
If you or your organization are interested in hosting a teach-in or discussion regarding our report please fill out this google form.
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